They the Five
by Pokemon67
Summary: Summary: Despite what they say, Percy and Annabeth are struggling after coming back from Tartarus. Their five teammates are forced to simple watch as their friends deal with the aftermath of their time spent in Hell. They do their best and help where they can.


**Me: Spent some time today flipping through my favorite scenes of the Hero's of Olympus books. I came across the one where Piper and Annabeth talk about how Annabeth is doing after Tartarus and it just inspired me. I hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. If i did, I wouldn't have killed Jason Grace (It hit me hard today why why why is he dead?)**

_~Pokemon67 is sorry for any grammar mistakes. Let's just celebrate the fact that she feels like writing at all~_

They weren't okay.

Annabeth and Percy hadn't given them any details about Tartarus. Occasionally they would let something slip and mention a monster or something, but the true in depth version they hadn't shared. _I don't want to talk about it_, was their second most used phrase, the first being _'I'm fine.'_

They weren't fine.

The Argo II was big and each corridor was long and narrow. It was fun to run from one room to the next (they were demigods, they were always running anyway). And if one of Leo's robots had just finished mopping the floor, it was fun to slip across the slick wood on your socks.

They didn't do that anymore.

Annabeth and Percy looked as though they could barely walk those first few days back. When they finally retired to their cabins, they didn't emerge for hours. But sleep hadn't come easy and left them looking more disheveled then before.

Annabeth's eyes were easily her most striking feature, second to her hair only when it fell in her princess curls. Her eyes' grey hues were sharp and gave you the impression she knew everything about you just by looking. Lately, her eyes seemed wider. Everything that moved they scanned with determination. And yet, her eyes looked paler, their light dimmed. It's possible they only looked dimmer because of the dark circles under them, but the wide eyed, almost panic, studying of everything was there.

Cautiously, Piper mentioned it. And that was how Annabeth confessed she had been temporally blinded in Tartarus.

Like most demigods, Percy had ADHD. He wasn't as bad as Leo, who couldn't go more than three minutes without digging in his tool belt and building something. Percy could sit still. At least, he had been able to. Now, he was constantly moving. Bouncing his knee, drumming his fingers, rocking back and forth—some part of him was moving. Sometimes his body would just flinch for no reason, as if every nerve was just checking to make sure they were all alert.

Like mentioned before, demigods ran a lot. Annabeth and Percy were slower now. And when they did run, you could hear their lungs wheezing as they gasped for breath. For hours after, every time they breathed it sounded like someone crumbling paper. Percy sometimes got relief by jumping in the water and letting it heal him, but obviously that wasn't an option for Annabeth.

…..

Hazel was walking down the hall when she heard something. She entered the infirmary to see Annabeth on the floor in front of one of the cabinets. She had a spacer in one hand and was rummaging around for the medicine. Five feet away in the door way, Hazel could hear her struggling to breath.

Hazel was by her side in a minute, knocking over a bunch of pills in the cabinet to grab the one Annabeth was reaching for. ''This one?''

Annabeth could only nod. Hazel clicked the inhaler onto the back of the spacer and pressed against Annabeth's face. ''One, two, three.''

_Click_. Annabeth took a deep breath and closed her eyes in exhausted relief. Hazel counted to ten to give her time to breath in the medicine. ''Two more times, okay?''

Finished, Hazel placed the inhaler on the counter above them before sitting back down. Annabeth, still breathing heavily, laid her head on the younger girl's shoulder.

…..

The knowledge that they were always in pain was hard. It was this pain they wouldn't say aloud, but you could tell they were in in the way that they moved. The way Annabeth would position her legs on a chair, or how Percy would lay his arm across his ribs.

It was late and Jason was on watch. His ears pricked at the sound of gasping. He followed the sound to the back of the ship, where Percy was crouched on the floor, his fingers in his mouth.

He tried to blink back the tears and took his hand out of his mouth to join his other one that was wrapped around his ribcage. The gasps he tried to mute came out louder. ''S-sorry I-'' He winced as the pain claimed him. _''Gods.''_

Jason kneeled down and clasped his hand as another spasm rolled over Percy. His eyes were shut tight. And his breaths hitched. ''Breath, Percy. It's okay…''

…..

Perhaps most of their problems would be better if they could sleep.

Demigods had nightmares all the time. Some visions of the future, some from the past, and some from their own horrific experiences. None of the other's on the ship could imagine what Percy's and Annabeth's nightmares held. Frank's room was right next to Percy's, and he had confirmed that whatever the nightmares held, they weren't good. It was no secret that Annabeth and Percy would sleep together. No one mentioned it, and Leo withheld all smart remarks about what Couch Hedge would say if he knew they were permitting this to go on in his absence.

Percy and Annabeth were nearly always by each other's side. But sometimes they didn't want to burden the other with their problems and would sneak away.

''Annabeth?'' Leo asked hesitantly. Annabeth raised her head from where she had been leaning it against the cold metal of the pole. ''You okay?''

Annabeth managed a smile. ''Yeah. Just can't sleep.''

Leo wasn't stupid. He could see the marks on her face the tears had left. He felt like a little kid watching an adult cry and feeling unsure sure whether to acknowledge it or not. He settled on not. ''So… wanna see some plans I drew up for this great invention?''

Definitely a little kid move, sharing his pictures. He was glad he had asked Hazel for one of her drawing pencils instead of using the crayons he had had in proximity at the time. But it worked. Annabeth sat next to him and they chatted about different inventions and theories. When they parted hours later, she seemed calmer. Leo hoped she dreamed about tall buildings and drafting tables rather than Hell.

Sometimes that would work, simple distracting them by talking about something else. Sometimes, that wasn't enough.

The night before had been bad. Really bad. If they had slept at all it couldn't have been very long or very deep. Annabeth had passed out in the mess hall. Literally and totally just passed out. Jason had barely caught her and had carried her to Piper's cabin, which was the deepest in ship and therefore the most quiet. Percy had spent most of the day in the water, partly to scout and partly— Frank suspected— to numb some of the pain.

After switching posts with Hazel for the night, Frank headed back to his cabin. He could hear Percy's screams through his closed door.

He entered and saw Percy thrashing around in the bed, deep in some horrible dream. His arm knocked over his lamp and it broke on the floor. Before he rolled off into the shattered glass, Frank ran over. ''Percy!''

He pinned him down in an effort to keep him from hurting himself. Despite Percy being older and more experienced in a fight, Frank was stronger. Percy's eyes were open now, but whatever he was seeing it wasn't Frank or the Argo II. ''Can someone come help?''

Piper appeared in the doorway. She quickly took stock of the situation and ran over. Just in time, for Percy had managed to throw Frank off and sit up. ''Percy!''

He was breathing through gritted teeth. His skin was pale and clammy. He was shivering despite his skin feeling like fire. Piper grasped his wrists. ''Hey, stop. Calm down. You're safe.''

Frank could tell her voice was imbedded with charm speak. Lately, Piper had been practicing charm speaking so that it would only affect the person she was directing it towards, not the whole room. ''Percy, it's okay.'' She sat on the bed next to him and brushed some hair out of his eyes. ''Shh.''

Percy tried to breath. He looked like he was resisting the urge to scream. ''Where. Is. Anna. Beth?''

''She's fine, she's sleeping.'' Piper gently pushed him back down. ''Go back to sleep.''

Percy laid back down, only to curl up on his side in pain a few moments later. He was still in some semi-conscious state. His eyes were fluttering and he was mumbling.

Piper stayed next to him on the bed, charm speaking him into a deep enough sleep that he wouldn't have nightmares. Frank felt awkward standing there, wanting to help but not sure how. Finally he settled on quietly cleaning up the glass from the broken lamp.

That's how it was. Everyday, watching them pretend they were okay, and everyday pretending they all believed it was true. They all wished they could do something, help in some way. They wished they knew what had happened to them down there. They wished they would admit they were hurting and ask for help.

But Percy and Annabeth wouldn't. They didn't do that. Because they were okay.

**Me: I love aftermath of Tartarus fics. Unfortunately, there aren't as many as i'd like. If you have time, please leave a review! **

**Happy Writing! (or angsty and hurt and comfort writing works too)**


End file.
